


Burn My Heart Out

by IrogicalArgument



Series: The World is Our Sandbox [8]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Implied Sexual Content, Insanity, M/M, Revenge, why do i do this to him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 04:10:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8606857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IrogicalArgument/pseuds/IrogicalArgument
Summary: The smallest of differences can cause the largest of avalanches, or fires as the case may be.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Currently the last of the song fics that I have finished, I'll write more once I finish college.  
> Inspired by Guren No Yumiya by Linked Horizon
> 
> My Favorite of all the shorts I have written, something about Cloud just makes me want to mess with him. This is also the longest one by far. Tell me if you enjoy these.

He could smell the smoke, but the ever-present snow that fell on his hometown muffled the sound of the roaring flames. He knew that people were screaming, but he couldn’t hear them over the sound of his heartache. Cloud Strife was only twelve years old and already he had become an orphan, along with every other child in his village. Lying on the ground before him was his mother, cut down by the only man he ever looked up to. A man he would now call Monster.

“General Sephiroth sir. All members of the rebellion have been killed. Further orders?”

Only feet away from him stood the Monster. Resplendent in shining silver and gleaming black leather with a seven-foot katana held casually in his grip. General Sephiroth of ShinRa had been his inspiration for years. But the man had come into his town and had murdered every man and woman that stood before him. The helpless villagers who were trying to scrape a living together in their ancestral home. They were called traitors to ShinRa and slaughtered. The only ones alive now were those that the Monster had deemed too young to kill. Cloud wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or a curse. 

“Gather the men and return to transport. Then call into ShinRa and tell them that the innocent are alive and that rebuilding should begin soon.”

“Yes sir, General.”

The man in SOLDIER blue turned on his heel and walked further into the destroyed town. With the Monster so close by Cloud had to slow his heartbeat so the Monster wouldn’t hear him. Everyone knew monsters had better senses than humans. Unfortunately, he didn’t quiet his heart fast enough, and the Monsters eyes turned to his position by the body of his mother, now cold and slowly losing all color. The Monster stepped closer to him, his hand outstretched. Before he could see what the Monster wanted, he grabbed his mother’s locket off her neck and ran for the mansion on the outskirts of town. It was the only thing not burning.

Cloud didn’t hear Sephiroth call out for him to stop. Didn’t see the infantrymen attempting to shoot him and Sephiroth stopping them from causing further harm. He didn’t see the regret shining in the general’s eyes. All he saw was the path to his revenge.

~*~

“It is my pleasure as general of the ShinRa army to present the new first class SOLDIERs of ShinRa. These men are the hardest working and the most deserving. A round of applause.”

Cloud Strife stood with his back straight, and his head held high as the applause washed over him. This day had been six years in the making. He was now the youngest ever first class SOLDIER in the history of ShinRa and in the perfect position to take out the Monster. He had spent four years training himself in the mountains of his former hometown. He had watched as ShinRa covered up the disaster wrought by the Monster and saw as his former friends got over the loss of their family and moved on. Even Tifa Lockhart who had sworn revenge with him had moved past it.

Cloud refused to forget, and so he had trained and practiced until even the few remaining dragons on the mountain were no match for him. He slept in the basement of the mansion and throughout the years had found every secret of the place. He found the man in the red cloak that he had convinced to leave. Saying that just because one woman may be dead doesn’t mean he had to give up. He had found the notes spread throughout the basement that showed him that he had been right to name the Monster as such. The Monster was not human and had to be destroyed. Using the books in both libraries, Cloud educated himself and trained until nothing could stand in his way. After clearing out the area of monsters to gain parts to sell he was on his way. Within a week he was signed up as a cadet in the SOLDIER program and proceeded to fly through the ranks of ShinRa’s army. Cloud made sure to stand out when the Monster was around. To draw the silver ones attention was vital even if every look his way made him feel dirty and violated.

The deception paid off, and within a year he was a third class SOLDIER under the personal training of the Monster, the General, Sephiroth.

He had to learn to speak the Monster’s name and to look at him with respect and love instead of loathing and disgust. He had to let the Monster touch him and eventually love him. The physical intimacy left him feeling broken inside. Every time the Monster decided that he had to mark Cloud as his the blond could only grasp his mother’s locket and pray that she forgave him for letting her murderer disgrace his body in such a manner. He had a plan and only by getting this close could he pull it off.

Within his second year at ShinRa Cloud was able to rise to second class and now first class. His revenge was so close at hand. Within the month he would be able to see six years of planning and training pay off.

~*~ 

“So this is your hometown Cloud. It feels familiar like I have been here before.”

“Well I’ve lived here all my life, and I think I would remember seeing the Silver General before I went to ShinRa. I’m positive you’ve never been to this town before.”

“If you insist Cloud. Shall we proceed to the hotel to get our rooms? Or would you like to visit family first?”

“I think I want you to meet my mom. I’m sure she is dying to meet you.”

Cloud and Sephiroth finished their quick discussion on the way through Nebilheim. Not letting the Monster have a chance to change his mind he grabbed the hand that had so long ago reached out to him through the flames and dragged the unresisting body up towards the mansion.

“Cloud, this is the path to the ShinRa mansion, what would your relations be doing up there?”

Cloud had no answer for that, so he just started walking faster. He had spent so much time planning this revenge that he didn’t want any stupid questions getting in the way. The Monster let his question go unanswered until they got up to the mansion. With the village far behind them, he could do nothing but stare as his lover turned toward him with a sick grin on his face and a Taser in his hand. He didn’t know if he fainted from shock or if the arcing electricity knocked him out cold.

~*~

Waking with a gasp Sephiroth jolted and twisted but couldn’t break free from the restraints he found himself in. Around him was a lab eerily similar to the one Professor Hojo had at ShinRa. Before he could properly get his bearings he felt a prick in the side of his neck. Immediately pain started coursing through his body, and his breathing grew labored. It took all of his effort to see who had done this to him and could only gaze on in horror as he saw Cloud standing in front of him with an empty syringe and a demented grin on his face. He was too weak even to struggle.

“Hello Monster.” he cooed as he put down the syringe and picked up one of three large cans lying on the floor. “Are you enjoying yourself? I hope you like that little concoction I just gave you. Cooked it up straight from Professor Hojo’s notes. A little something created to block your enchantments and cause endless amounts of agonizing pain. I hope I got it right.”

“C-c-clou-d, wha-“

“Shut up Monster!” Cloud screamed as he smacked Sephiroth across the face. “You don’t have the right to say my name. You don’t have the right to even breath the same air that I do.”

“Clou-“

Slap

“I said SHUT UP!”

Sephiroth closed his eyes to hide the tears that he knew were beginning to form. Seeing the love of his life like this was breaking him. Seconds later his eyes flew open as he felt cold liquid run down his pant legs. Cloud had dumped the first of the three cans on his legs and was reaching for the second. The smell hit him, and he felt his eyes widen as he recognized the stench. Gasoline.

Cloud saw the spark of recognition in Sephiroth’s eyes and the sinister grin on his face only grew.

“That’s right Monster,” he purred, “I’m going to burn you just like you burned my home. I’m going to murder you in cold blood just as you slaughtered my entire village. You were right, you have been here before.”

The second can had been emptied and as he spoke Cloud dumped the third can over Sephiroth’s head and watched in demented glee as the Monster’s long silver locks got soaked. The smile on his face got even wider as Cloud pulled a ShinRa issued tactical knife from his boot and preceded to stab Sephiroth in the gut.

“It’s all about revenge, you know. You came here six years ago to kill off a group of rebels. The only problem was that there were no rebels. Without waiting for an explanation, you murdered every man and woman that lived here, leaving only the children.”

Agonizingly slow Cloud pulled the knife from the Monster’s torso. His blood was red with thin tendrils of green. Proof that he was a Monster.

“ You reached out your hand to me back then as I cradled my mother’s corpse, the mother that you had just killed in front of my eyes, but I knew it was only a ploy. You’re a Monster so you can’t feel regret. You couldn’t have realized the pain I was in. You can’t fix it!”

“Clo-“

“SHUT UP! I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT!”

Cloud pulled out a lighter and flicked it open. Backing up to the edge of the gasoline puddle that had spread under the chair. Sephiroth tried to beg as the broken blonde man in front of him, the little blonde boy that he had always felt connected to, the love of his dark and painful life, dropped the lighter and booked it towards the exit. He tried to keep quiet but gave in as the flickering flames, and scorching heat overcame even his training. His screams echoed through the corridors of the basement as the flames grew higher and everything he had ever known burned to ash.

~*~ 

Outside the mansion, Cloud paused to catch his breath and looked back as the first trickles of smoke escaped from the building. The grin on his face grew just a little sharper as he started laughing.

“Goodbye Monster, no one will hear you scream.”

Schooling his face into indifference Cloud trudged up into the mountains as the ever-present snow fell and muffled all noise eventually leaving nothing but pristine landscape and a giant crater as the final resting place of a Monster.


End file.
